Terrill Welch by herself - issue #35 Pulling Up the Covers
Autumn mornings begin wrapped in soft darkness and warmth from pulled up covers against the coolness of an overnight open window. I thought there was a hint of snow on a breeze off the mountains the other day. When I allow the seasons to become embedded in the rhythms of how I enter the day, there is the occasional late night that results in an equally late morning by about two hours. Not everyday. Just once or twice and then I am prepared to get up while it is still dark until spring. My mint tea is exchanged for a smoky black Lapsang Souchong or lately a pearl jasmine that was gifted to me by a fellow artist and new friend. I begin to browse recipes for stews and curries and think about how I can use winter squash and apples. Heavy sweaters are retrieved from the cupboards and hang in waiting, first just for early morning.
On a day like this, a breeze ripples the water and whispers of winter as it picks up the coolness sheltering in the shade of an iconic arbutus tree. There is an otter slipping back into the sea near where we are sitting. An eagle scatters the gulls and seals sunbathe on the warm sandstone. We don’t stay long because we will come back again tomorrow and everyday until one day it will be too wet and windy. On that day, I will soak and prepare dried beans to slow-bake in the oven with hopes that the power stays on.
Whatever else is going on in the world, these days are for savouring and collecting a stash of memories felt deep in my body. These will sustain me through one long stretch of grey to the next low hanging winter sun of an afternoon that will be followed by another and then another stretch of mist, rain and wind.
I do love it! I just need to be prepared with more than my water proof hikers and a good raincoat. I have to gather, tuck in and change the spices. One must be prepared for a small island west coast winter.
During the past month I have been focused on the written work I need to complete by the end of November for my MA in Fine Art unit 2 assessment. This has resulted in less new work and a only tentative possibilities of getting the most recent pieces into the inventory before the end of October. That said, I have been out on the shores and there is a new book to recommend and a small painting has sold. Let’s begin shall we!?
WEATHER, WHAT I AM READING AND NATURE-CENTRIC LIVING
Gripped by the beauty of unsettled weather and a slate grey sea, I meander the reef catching a soft breeze mixed with a few drops of rain. Weather! I think I will have a large serving of weather for the next few months!
It was my mom’s 88th birthday in early October. She is the person who taught me how to enjoy and prepare for all kinds of weather from being able to smell snow before it arrives, feel a storm coming in your bones and get up in the middle of the night to go outside to see the northern lights. I learned that I wasn’t sugar and wouldn’t melt if I got soaked in a summer downpour. I learned not to run in freezing temperatures so I won’t frost my lungs. I learned to stay out of the hot midday sun and have a nap after a dip to cool off in the river. I learned that dark clouds didn’t only hang in the sky but over the top of people’s heads when they were miserable. All valuable life lessons.
The late evening moves quickly across the Salish Sea as I find myself out on the sandstone reef with an out going tide. Every one of my 67 years seems to break open as I breathe in all the molecules that ever were and those that are. I seem to understand on a cellular level that this entangled and interconnected temporary place of my constructed self is actually part of this shore, this sea and this sky, along with all living and non-living things in the universe. This is a perfect way to integrate my Sunday reading of Tom Oliver’s book The Self Delusion (2020).
In this book, Professor of ecology, Tom Oliver, writes “our minds are programmed through biological evolution – and reinforced by cultural evolution – to snap back to the illusion that we exist as autonomous discrete individuals. To truly dispel this illusion, we need to do more than just acknowledge it theoretically; we need to proactively overturn our deeply held mental models of the world. If we are successful, then it may catalyse a seismic shift in society. And it would not be too soon: we are at a critical crossroads as a species, where we must rapidly reform our mindsets and behaviour to act in less selfish ways. Otherwise, we will face increasingly hostile conditions that threaten not only our personal health and those of our families, but even the very future of our species… consider changing your mind in light of the facts – change your mental perspective, loosen your grip on the illusion of an independent ‘I’ and open your eyes to the hidden connections all around you. I believe you will find it opens the door to a more exciting, happier and fairer world.”
Oliver’s nature-centric science ecology inquiries offer a way of being and doing in the world that sits easily within my painting practice as I unlock the mysteries behind my passion and driving desire to explore the seafloor.
NEW ENTANGLED WITH WIND AND SEA PAINTINGS
Reference Gathering:
My references were gathered during two days. The first day was when the wind came up and I went out in the reefs during a low tide. Reef Bay in what is now called Mayne Island is on the protected Strait of Georgia in the Salish Sea. We only get significant wave action if there is a wind.
Making Process:
I began this painting wet on wet over a yellow acrylic ground at around 10:30 am and worked straight through to just after 2:30 pm. I found the subject hypnotic. Though I worked standing up walking back and forth as usual and I had to move the easel into the great room to avoid the sun in the studio, the painting didn’t let go of me until the end. This kind of deep emergence into my painting process is not unusual. The composition is constructed and though I had references they were more encouragement than resources. I relied instead on my memory of the sound of the sea, the warmth of the sun on my back and the smell of seaweed and mussels that are exposed during a low tide. These moments are invigorating and release stored energy in my whole sensory system. I still had access to all of this from the winds two days before and I used it.
First Finished Painting:
Artist Notes:
A northwest wind picked up the sea and tossed it over the sandstone reefs in the bright September Sun. I gathered up a spray of ideas and returned to the studio. Blowing troubles into washes of seaweed covered oyster shells while curving over mussels and then settling into the tidal pools of possibilities. Figurative yes. Abstract in shapes and an imagined composition. Time and place resonate deeply within and between the surfaces. This painting also has a companion painting. I decided on a diptych to capture the entangled layers of dramatic textured shapes and colours.
Second Finished Painting:
Artist Notes:
A northwest wind picked up the sea and tossed it over the sandstone reefs in the bright September Sun. I gathered up a spray of ideas and returned to the studio. Blowing troubles into washes of seaweed covered oyster shells while curving over mussels and then settling into the tidal pools of possibilities. Figurative yes. Abstract in shapes and an imagined composition. Time and place resonate deeply within and between the surfaces. I decided on a diptych to capture the entangled layers of dramatic textured shapes and colours. This second painting of the same subject could only come into existence with the first but now they each can stand on their own or together.
Room view:
This diptych requires a room view to fully appreciate and contextualize these two paintings.
Key Findings:
These two paintings remind me of the importance of doing this difficult work between various borders. I may fail at fully stretching my figurative/abstract mark making continuum but this is less significant than keeping my raw, healing and thriving, caring and loving relationship with nature.
Anything else:
I am surprised that these paintings hold so much contemplation within their creative process. Without taking the time to collect this data and analyze my experience, this knowledge would have, for the most part, remained invisible even to me.
WHAT HAS SOLD
I had planned to have a short special on just the smallest 8 x 10 inch acrylic painting sketches for my private Canadian and European fans and art collectors on Facebook and I was also going to offer it in this issue of the newsletter. However, only one was sold before everything had to be stopped on the second day after I made the offer due to the Canada Postal service going on strike. If you come in person to the gallery and studio, or you want to make a purchase and wait for it to be shipped, I still might be able to accommodate a request for one of these small works. In general however, it is something that will need to be considered again another time.
That said, thanks to the art collectors who are offering their stewardship to this wee gem!
“Oyster Bay in Morning Light” is on its way to Alberta via FedEx following a trip to Victoria.
SATURDAY 8th and SUNDAY 9th MAYNE ISLAND STUDIO TOUR
This year’s Fall Mayne Island Studio Tour theme ”Made with Love” is for two days from 10-4 on November 8th and 9th. A map will be available and there are roadside signs can be picked up from the first place you visit. I will have a small items and products besides my paintings available. It will be a great opportunity for those in Victoria or even Vancouver to come for the day and pop into the various studios. I would love to see you if you are able to drop in.
WHAT I AM WATCHING
My recommended watch this month is a 44 minute long 2022 Nature of Things film ‘True Survivors’ directed by Rio Mitchell and written by Sarika Cullis-Suzuki (yes, she is the daughter of David Suzuki). The most inspiring and lasting message from this eyes-wide-open presentation is that there is hope and ‘hope is action’.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
When I write again in November, I am hopeful that I will have all my assessment materials either submitted or ready to submit. Either way, it should be a time to celebrate and reach into a two month break for December and January. My body will be most thankful to not spend so many long hours in front of a screen hunched over typing! I am looking forward to longer walks along the shores and resting the critical thinking part of brain for a bit.
I hope you get ample time to go out and kick leaves in the fall weather before winter settles in and that you have your emergency candles, batteries for headlamps and a safety blanket in your vehicle. The winter or all weather tires have been checked and the pantry at home stalked for the days you are snowed in. With this done, do curl up with a book or five and invite friends over for a an afternoon visit. These next few months are for savouring their restorative qualities. It is something that we don’t want to miss in our annual cycle of life.
Take good care and we shall chat up again soon!
Terrill 👩🎨🎨❤️
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